Some stray thoughts – Satyanarain Goel's Thoughts & Memories

Some stray thoughts represent a series of articles based on day-to-day problems in the lives of the common man, in all parts of the world. These were initially written for maintaining some sort of communication with our children and other members of the family, friends, and acquaintances. The world has changed beyond recognition since then, particularly during the last fifty to sixty years. A casual peep into the past may look unreal to the present generation. It is difficult to believe and visualize, that, there has been a long march, through toils and tears by millions of people, which has brought us to an era, where people take everything for granted. The underlying theme is that the present generation is intelligent, sharp, resourceful and outgoing and in spite of all the problems, that, beset the world today, the onward march will continue and with all the resources and bounties of nature and knowhow and management skills available to us today, the day is not far, when everybody living on this planet will have sufficient opportunities for engagement in socially useful productive work and for leading a happy, satisfying and hassle-free life and will be in a position to contribute to the overall growth and development of the country and this sprawling humanity. The present collection includes the following themes:

Life: Life is a mystery, a bigger mystery than the mysteries of the universe. Despite unending studies, research, revelations, intuitions and spiritual experiences of all the wise men, apostles, prophets, and religious thinkers of the world, spread over thousands of years and with all their contributions and available literature, nobody really knows, what life is, when and how it begins, what are its cycles and where it ends. The biggest mystery is that nobody has physically seen life, but the manifestations of life and what life does and what life can do is understood and felt almost everywhere. Life is that something, which keeps everything moving, kicking and buzzing with activity.

Perceptions: Some people are always proud of what they were and what they are. They remain tied to their roots and are conscious of their responsibilities and obligations. Whereas in some cases, people find the recollection of bygone memories uncomfortable, and they do not like to have any association or link with anything that is etched in their memory. They make conscious efforts to block all such memory and try to slip on coloured glasses to filter out all those happenings, which they feel are not in tune with their egos and prejudices. In extreme cases, they fondly hope to rewrite everything and try to paint their past in desired colours to have an opportunity to bask in fantasies of their own.

The Supreme Power: Every faith or religion has a belief in the existence of an invisible, all-pervading supreme power, that is responsible for the creation of mother earth and all other celestial objects orbiting in the universe. It is believed that this supreme body ordains, oversees and controls everything that happens on this earth and elsewhere in the vastness of the universe. It seems that nobody has physically seen the supreme power, commonly referred to as God. However, the manifestations of his power are there for everybody to see, think and feel.

Relationships: Concern for the near and dear ones, an affinity for all those who are in contact, care of the old and infirm, dependence on those who are innovative, powerful and productive and regard and respect for the parents, elderly people, mentors, and benefactors, provides the initial bonds between individuals and groups of individuals. These bonds or relationships are natural. As time rolls on, the man starts cultivating relationships for survival and enlightened self-interest and relationships get a twist and find a new purpose or meaning.

Motivation: Motivation is a desire, an urge and an obsession to do something. To do something better, something quicker. Everybody has that little spark in him. It may be latent, it may be dormant, but it is always there. It has tremendous potential. When you start looking at it and start thinking about it, your perspectives, your environment, and your world changes beyond recognition.

Opportunities for work: The dreams of a common man are usually very modest and close to realities. All that he wishes is the availability of sufficient opportunities for work and the freedom to enjoy the fruits of his labour in a relaxed manner, in an environment of safety, security, and goodwill. Opportunities for scrambling two square meals a day, gradually kindle in him the urge for improving facilities for better shelter, better education, and better health. These are common urges. Everybody has them and with proper environment and opportunity, everybody has the capacity to cross the hump.

Pursuit of excellence: Pursuit of excellence is a dynamic process. There are no standards. There are no benchmarks. It carries different meanings for different people, from man to man and place to place and the prevailing circumstances and environment. Pursuit of excellence does not involve any conflict. It does not involve any rivalry. It can be a lone furrow, or it can be a mass effort. The pursuit of excellence can be physical, or it can be a vision or maybe some stray idea, which has the potential to transform the way we think and work and can be a source of happiness and satisfaction to millions of people. Pursuit of excellence gradually becomes a habit or a way of life and frees the man from most of the deadwood.

Reservation: Reservation literally means, that, we are opting for doing something, which is slightly or substantially less than the best. There have been continuous debates since reservations were initially introduced in the constitution of the country and naturally, there has never been any dearth of people, from almost all sections of the society for the continuation of the reservations and to bring more and more castes and other vested interests in the orbit. The stock argument is that members of the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, and other backward classes and all those who never had an opportunity to go up the ladder, should also have an opportunity to get into plum positions. The basic question is whether it is physically possible to enable all members of all castes, tribes or sections of the society and for that matter all individuals, to grab an opportunity to get into plum positions of their dreams, which they were unable to reach due to lack of proper education and available opportunities and resources.

People: People belonging to different castes, creeds, religion, colour, language, region, country or social and political affiliations vary widely in their upbringing, outlook, ways of life, socio-economic conditions and so many other ways. With all the differences and diversities, the dreams and urges of almost all the people are similar. Every man wants safety, security, peace, happiness and satisfaction and freedom to follow his internal urges for the realization of his dreams.

Dissent: Dissent as such is good. Dissent helps in stimulating the thought processes and perhaps needs all the encouragement in all forums. All that is needed is openness and flexibility for the people to pick up and adopt, what is good for the individuals and for the community and humanity.

Discontentment: Discontentment is a state of mind. It is the breeding ground for dissatisfaction, frustration, uneasiness and restlessness. It can also lead to bitter feelings, animosity, hatred and hostility. Discontentment is a sort of bug, which strikes almost everybody, off and on. There are no exceptions. It cuts through all barriers of caste, creed and religion.

Demonstrations: Milling crowds, floating all along, shouting slogans and trying to squeeze into the limited space in the city square. A great spectacle, drawing people of all hues and colour. Some are curious. Some are concerned. Some are forced into it. Some are sucked in, whereas a large number stand with blank faces on the sidelines.

Agitation: Agitation involves picking up issues of public concern and mobilizing the masses and public opinion for putting pressure on the establishment, local government, regional government or national government and their associated institutions. Naturally, the establishment or administration, which is normally involved in providing safety, security, and other essential services to the people, is forced to divert its attention and resources for containing the agitation and at the same time, for minimizing the adverse impact of the agitation on the general public.

Democracy: Democracy is all about people. And the word people is supposed to include all the people, cutting through all the barriers of caste, creed and religion and social, economic and political considerations. In a democracy, people stand together, work together, shoulder to shoulder and feel concerned for each other and for the welfare of the community and for the growth and development of the country. Democracy encourages unity in diversity. There are no class conflicts between rich and poor and labour and capital. Democracy dismantles all man-made barriers between man and man based on social, economic and political considerations or affinities based on caste, creed and religion.

Law: Law is something, which has universal application. Normally, nobody ignores, disputes and confronts the law. Nature has its own laws. All celestial bodies religiously respect the laws of nature and keep moving on their paths in perfect harmony with each other. All-natural elements of the earth like heat, light, water and winds keep working tirelessly for sustaining animal and plant life in the remotest corners and crevices of the earth. Then there are laws of the land, in the form of written or unwritten constitutions, conventions, customs or traditions. Sometimes, the spoken word or even the unspoken word may carry much greater force than the force of the written laws. Laws can be good or bad depending on the perception of an individual. There are letters of the law and there is the spirit, in which the laws are written. Most of the controversies and disputes are over the letters of the law and in the process, the basic intentions and spirit of the laws are lost. Understanding between man and man is perhaps the most cherished law.

General Elections: Elections are intended to choose people’s representatives, who ultimately form the government and man a host of constitutional offices. All along, the people are considered supreme. They are placed on a high pedestal. They are depicted as repositories of all power. Adult franchise symbolizes this notion. The power to vote is considered as an opportunity to choose the representatives and to choose the form of government and its policies and programmes. The fond hope is that everything will work out, as visualized. Elections provide some hope to the common man. Hope for something better. Something satisfying.

Today, almost all countries of the world are face to face with a number of complex problems. Blasts, serial blasts, terrorism, deteriorating law and order problems, unemployment, under-employment, poverty, malnutrition, hunger, economic recession and concerns about peace, safety and security of the people and the state and a host of other problems. Whatever the candidates or the political parties may say or profess, the elections are not expected to solve any of these problems.

Violence: Violence has been playing hide and seek with the lives of the people from times immemorial and by and large, people have gradually reconciled to live with it. Violence is generally perpetrated by socially, politically, physically or financially strong and powerful people with some desperate and frustrated weaklings squeezing in between. Normally, the common man is indifferent and complacent about acts of violence and is even prepared to undergo some suffering and indignities in the process.

Good and evil: Right and wrong, good and bad, virtue and sin and divine and demonic tendencies have been playing hide and seek with the feelings of man since times immemorial. Usually, gods and goddesses symbolize all that is good and virtuous in life and they provide inspiration to the people to lead happy, peaceful, purposeful and satisfying lives in an environment of love, affection, understanding and goodwill, gradually developing fraternal links with almost all elements of the creation. Devils represent the other side of the coin and have always been there to brainwash people to disrupt and demolish all that is good in life. Those who draw inspiration from their demonic and devilish tendencies, become cruel and ruthless and start relying on weapons of awe and terror.

Crowd Pullers: All types of ingenious methods have been tried from time to time. Reservations, affirmative action, doles and more doles. It is hardly understood that every individual is a creation of nature. Every human being has dreams and has latent talents and energy for the realization of those dreams. For centuries, the world has not been able to unfold its productive potential.

Living and working for each other: Normally, every member of the family works for each other and for the overall growth, development, safety, security and happiness of the family. There is no written constitution for the day to day working of the families, but the system works and has been working for thousands of years.

Married Life: The marriage brings about a tremendous change in the lives of the couple. The boy, who was used to all the freedom, suddenly finds, that, he is not all that free and that, he has to worry about the conveniences and sensibilities of the girl, with whom he is required to share his free time and space. Whereas, the girl, who was used to all the freedom and love and affection of her family in her day to day life, suddenly finds her in the midst of unknown people in the new family.

Married life with children: Life undergoes a tremendous change after marriage, but life changes beyond recognition after the birth of a child. A newborn child brings about a change in all the equations and transforms the whole environment in the family. The child may not be able to speak, but a little smile on his or her face enlivens the whole family.

Sovereignty: Sovereignty is considered as a symbol of supreme power or authority. Almost all democratic constitutions of the world proclaim that the ultimate power rests with the people. However, billions of people scattered all over the globe, continue to hope against hope for better days and keep staring listlessly at the elusive power, which is tightly gripped by a selected few in almost all the countries.

Inequalities and Diversities: The world is a storehouse of all the inequalities and diversities. The developed countries of the world export specialized know-how and sophisticated machines and equipment to the developing countries and in return, import shiploads of essential raw materials for feeding their industries. In the process, they keep multiplying their high-end jobs and keep out-sourcing low-end jobs to the developing countries. The prosperity and living conditions of the developed countries serve as a magnet to attract the best and most talented human material of the world, who leave their homelands for distant lands for the fulfilment of their dreams.

Crimes and the law: Anything punishable under the law is a crime. This appears to be a very simple and all-embracing definition. However, the common man has his own perceptions about what he should do and keeps doing it.

Criminality: Nobody is a born criminal. Nobody likes to be a criminal. Anything which hurts is a crime and the obsession of the people for perpetrating crimes in frustration or for retribution or taking it up as a job for profit or career is criminality.

Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas: Sabka sath sabkha vikas or surging ahead, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, is an excellent concept. It conveys almost everything for making this world a better place, than what it is and for flashing a glow on the faces of almost everybody, irrespective of their caste, creed, colour, religion, nationality, ideology and economic status and social and political affiliations. It provides a pointer towards a happy, purposeful and satisfying way of life. It contains the very essence of all that is good in the teachings of all religions. It reflects the cherished desires and yearnings of all and sundry.

Writings on the wall: The world is beset with all types of physical and environmental problems. Even in ideal conditions, when there are no distractions and everybody joins hands, the problems of the world are colossal. Everybody has a yearning for freedom, peace, safety and security. However, the stark fact is that the people can get all that if they manage to survive, and if the world survives. And the world will survive if the people come out of their self-imposed shells and start working for the welfare and overall growth and development of mother earth and this sprawling humanity.

The following links detail out these stray thoughts in detailed chapters: